


Honest, Truly, I Do

by Nick_and_Nora



Category: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - All Media Types
Genre: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Freeform, F/M, original otp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-30 22:06:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6443689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nick_and_Nora/pseuds/Nick_and_Nora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My imaginings of what may have happened in between their courtship, etc. Things the movie left out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Partnership

*Setting* Mr. Potts' workroom*  
There was a sudden burst of wind, followed by the slamming of the door to his workroom. Caractacus' head shot up, which was unfortunate as he was underneath Chitty, fixing an oil leak, and he banged it on her metal underside. 

"Ouch!" He noticed two white heels around the side of the car, and thought there was only one person, or lady, rather, who could belong to those heels. Needless to say, his heart beat picked up.

"Mr. Potts? Are you alright?"

His heart beat even faster at the sound of her voice. "Uh, yes, quite."

"I just had to dash right over after I heard the wonderful news. Daddy told me all about his plan to make you his partner at the sweet factory."

" Yes, he-"

"I think it's awfully grand!"

"Er-"

"Mr. Potts. Would you mind terribly coming out from under that automobile? I do so like to see a person's face while I'm speaking to them."

Caractacus prepared himself for the lovely sight he was about to see, and gingerly crawled out from under Chitty. As he stood up and looked at Truly-er, Miss Scrumptious, he realized no amount of mental preparation would be enough for the sight he saw now. She was wearing a light blue dress which set off her eyes perfectly, and her hair was down with a white bow, just like it was when he, the children, and she went to the seaside for a picnic a week ago. 

Truly caught him staring at her, and smiled internally. It was all rather new and interesting to her, having a man look at her the way Caractacus-er, Mr. Potts, did, and to enjoy it for that matter. She decided to speak up.

"Mr. Potts, you're staring."

"Oh. Er, I'm, uh, I'm terribly sorry. It's just that, uh, you had a sort of, uh, speck of dust or something on your nose."

"Really?" 

He could see her smirking at him as if she knew he wasn't being entirely truthful. 

"Well, perhaps you could wipe it off for me," she said as she swiftly pulled out a handkerchief from her handbag. 

"Oh...of course." Caractacus stepped closer to Truly, took the handkerchief from her outstretched hand, and somehow managed to keep his hand from shaking noticeably. He took a few more steps towards her, but still remained a little too far away to be able to wipe the "dust" off her nose. 

"Mr. Potts, I'm not going to bite you." ("Yet," she thought). 

Caractacus stumbled a little closer to her. And then closer, until he could smell her perfume, and see the spray of freckles across her nose, and see just how blue her eyes were. 

"Well, here goes," he thought.


	2. The Partnership- Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sort of continuation of my last chapter. This is mostly my own take on Truly and Mr. Potts; not that of the 1968 movie. Enjoy.

Caractacus leaned forward and lightly brushed Truly's face with the handkerchief she had handed him. He was trying to keep his hand from shaking, but made the mistake of looking down into Truly's blue eyes. In her eyes, he thought he could see warmth and... what was that other thing he could see but was unable to name? 

"Mr. Potts?"

Caractacus snapped back to reality. Lost in his thoughts no longer, he pretended to focus back on the non-existent smudge of dirt that he had so fervently claimed was on Truly's face. Truly smiled to herself, again realizing the sort of effect she was having on the poor man, and enjoying it. She was not cruel or petty, it was just a nice change to have a man be so interested in her, with the feelings being completely mutual. 

"Mr. Potts... Are you quite finished?"

"Oh, yes, ma'am. I'm sorry, er, I seem to have gotten, er, distracted and whatnot..." Caractacus rambled, as he gave her back her handkerchief. "What was it we were discussing?"

"We were talking about Daddy offering you a partnership at his sweet factory, dear." Truly was so caught up in the wonderful absent-mindedness and charm of this man, she let slip a small term of endearment. Fortunately, Caractacus hadn't appeared to have heard her. "Now, what I meant to talk to you about, is there is going to be a sort of picnic in your honor this Saturday at noon, and I- I mean, Father would be so delighted if you would come. I mean, it is mainly for you, after all, and it would be quite rude of you to miss it."

"Oh, well, in that case-"

"And, naturally, I will be there too, of course. Probably waiting anxiously for someone to pass the time with..." She broke off, uncertain of how to finish this particular sentence. Why was she rambling on and on? Caractacus had practically agreed to come to the picnic immediately after she had announced it. 

"Well, I dare say I'm not typically one for fancy get-togethers, but as it is a picnic in my honor, I suppose I will have to make an appearance of some sort," Caractacus stated. 

"Wonderful!" Truly breathed ecstatically. Caractacus wondered how he could have even entertained the thought of declining her invitation to the picnic. Seeing the look of joy on Truly's face right now, he was emphatically glad he had accepted. 

"Well. Until Saturday then?" Caractacus had some work to do, and as much as he hated practically throwing Truly out of his workshop, he had to in order to finish his tasks for the day before Jeremy and Jemima came home from school. 

"Until Saturday." Truly's first instinct was to pout, but instead she gave Caractacus a small smile, turned around, and walked towards the door. 

"Miss Scrumptious?"

Truly wheeled around quickly, as if she expected something wonderful. "Yes?"

"Er. There really was nothing on your face," the poor man mumbled out. 

"Yes. I know," she said, smugly, and proceeded to walk out the door and into her motorcar, and then headed off for home with her eyes glowing, cheeks pink, and hair blowing in the breeze, giving her the appearance of a young woman in love.


	3. The Company Picnic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the picnic arrives. Caractacus actually brushes his hair for once, and Truly keeps saying she "has nothing to wear."

Caractacus woke to the sound of birds chirping and children crashing into his bedroom. 

"Hurry, Daddy! You're going to be late for the party!" cried Jemima. 

"And Truly really wanted you to be there!" chimed in her twin, Jeremy. 

Caractacus quickly sat up. "What time is it?"

"It's almost noon, my boy," said his father, strolling through the bedroom door. 

Caractacus shot out of bed and raced towards his closet, opening the door hurriedly, forgetting the loose knob. The knob came off in his hand, and he immediately let it drop to the floor. "Well, no time to fix that now. I have a picnic to get to." 

"Come along, children. Let's go down to the barn and give Chitty a quick rubdown," said Grandpa Potts. 

The children and their grandfather left the room. Caractacus quickly put on his newly acquired all-white suit and shoes, light pink bow tie, and raced into the bathroom to try to tame his half-flattened, half-messy, hair. When he was finished, he looked at himself in the mirror with a look of quiet approval, and then rushed down the stairs, out the door, to the barn, and inside Chitty. He waved goodbye to his children and father, and sped off in the direction of the Scrumptious manor. 

*2 hours earlier*  
Truly woke to the sound of running water and the smell of freshly cooked breakfast. Her first thought was to turn over and go back to sleep, but then her eyes shot wide open with the realization of the importance of this particular day. "The picnic!" she thought, excitedly, and threw the covers off her body, swung her legs out of bed, and practically sprinted towards her bathroom, where her long-time maid and confidant, Lizzie, was drawing her bath. 

The maid glanced up at Truly, and smiled. She could read the girl like a book, due to basically playing a huge hand in raising her after her mother died when she was very young. Lizzie could tell the girl was absolutely smitten with the young man who was going to become her father's partner at the sweet factory. It warmed her heart to see the girl finally responding positively to a man after having so many young (and some not so young) blueblooded suitors thrown at her. She glanced at the girl's flushed cheeks and shining eyes, and found herself hoping for a baby she could help take care of... Lizzie snapped back to the present. It was pointless thinking about babies, when the young man hadn't even proposed to her Truly yet. 

A loud "Lizzie!" broke her out of her reverie. "I would like you to please get my white dress out of my closet for me. I think I shall wear that one today," Truly projected from the bath. 

"Yes, dear," said Lizzie as she left to go find the dress for the girl. 

Another loud "Lizzie!" came from the bathroom, and said, "Actually, I think I've changed my mind. I don't think I shall wear the white dress today. Possibly the green?"

Lizzie ducked back into the closet to put the white dress back and emerged with the green one.

"That one won't do either. Perhaps the pink one? I do so wish to look nice today."

"Any special reason, Miss?" Lizzie asked, as she watched the girl's cheeks turn pink.

After a slight pause, Truly almost whispered, "No. I just would like to look nice, that's all," and ducked her head under the bubbles in a weak attempt to hide her embarrassment. 

"I found the pink dress, my dear," Lizzie exclaimed triumphantly.

Truly shot up from among the bubbles and smiled widely. "Thank you, Lizzie," she said as she carefully got out of the bathtub, and wrapped herself in the warm, waiting towel. 

"I'll leave you to get dressed, dear," Lizzie said as she backed out of the bathroom.


	4. The Company Picnic Part 2

Caractacus arrived at the Scrumptious Sweet Factory (the site of the picnic) approximately 10 minutes before the festivities were to begin. He was not entirely proud of the fact that the reason he was able to make such good time, was the result of running several stop signs and ignoring the suggested speed limit. However, he was glad that he made it to the party on time after sleeping in so late. Caractacus parked Chitty and began making his way towards the area where people were starting to gather. 

Meanwhile, Truly, clad in her light pink dress, white shoes, and hair done up with a ribbon (in the way she knew made Caractacus positively melt like butter), caught herself craning her neck in order to see above the crowd, searching in vain for the man of her affections. She snapped back to reality, and admonished herself for appearing too eager. She made her way over towards the rose trellis, hoping to cut a rather conspicuous figure among the sea of people. 

Caractacus entered the garden, and almost immediately spotted Truly. She looked simply marvelous. And her hair was done up in just the way he liked it. He wondered for a moment if Truly knew how much he liked her hair in that particular way, but then swatted the idea away. He walked over towards where she was sitting, and said, "Good afternoon, Miss Scrumptious. I was hoping I'd see you here."

Truly, recognizing the voice, quickly looked up at him. "Why, Mr. Potts. Fancy seeing you here."

"Er... You invited me, Miss Scrumptious," was all the man could get out. 

Truly mentally kicked herself for uttering such a redundant statement, but outwardly smiled, and remarked, "So I did. Won't you please join me?"

"It would be my pleasure."

A nearby woman recognized Caractacus and rushed right over to convey her congratulations. 

"Hello. Mr. Potts? I'm Abigail Withers, Colonel Withers' wife? I just wanted to express my utmost congratulations to you. It's such an honor to become the partner of such a successful and prosperous business. Will you be moving to an establishment more suitable to your upcoming way of life? Might I suggest the Cherry Hills estates? They're simply wonderful. Of course, you know, Mr. Withers and I live there. Well, of course, you didn't know that. Why, we could be neighbors! That would be simply wonderful! But I'm getting ahead of myself. We'll have to find you a wife first, dear..." 

At this, Truly's naturally sweet expression hardened into one of a more frustrated nature. She had to bite her lip to keep from replying, "Well, as I'M going to be his wife, we are hardly in need of YOUR services in that department." Mrs. Withers' rather one-sided conversation had morphed rapidly into that of a seemingly random topic.

"...I simply LOVE fox hunting, don't you? Oh, naturally, you don't have any idea whether you do or don't, since you've never been before. Oh, how silly of me..."

Caractacus simply kept nodding his head, and supplying small phrases here and then, like "Oh, is that so?" and "How nice." every so often. 

Mrs. Withers' babbling had gotten too out of control, to the point where Truly knew she had to take matters into her own hands if she was going to get the man all to herself. So, she did the only thing that came into her mind: She feigned illness. 

"Oh!" 

"What is it, Miss Scrumptious? Are you alright?" questioned Caractacus, concernedly. 

"Oh, it's nothing. Just my stomach. Maybe I ate something and it isn't agreeing with me." With this sentence, Truly deemed it to be more realistic if she doubled over in pain, so that's exactly what she did. 

Miss Withers exclaimed, "Oh! I must go get my bag. I think I may have something in there that may help you, dear." And with these words, she dashed off.

"Are you alright, Truly? Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Caractacus. 

Observing how her plan had been carried out successfully, and not wishing to torture the poor man any further, Truly abruptly sat up, and suggested they walk over to a spot that was less populated, so they wouldn't be bothered by any other middle-aged society matrons. 

Caractacus' mouth hung open. He had never considered the fact that Truly was more clever than she let on. He was shocked at how adroitly she had carried out her little "stomach pain" melodrama, but was secretly pleased that Mrs. Withers had exited the scene. 

Truly looked up at Caractacus, and noticed he was basically speechless. She rather liked the way he was looking at her. She took his arm, and proceeded to lead him towards a small patch of trees. 

When they reached the spot, Truly promptly sat down, and Caractacus followed suit. As Caractacus sat, his fingers lightly brushed against Truly's, causing her to flush a becoming shade of pink. It was then that she realized just how madly she loved this man. This lovely, lonely man.


	5. Do You Think of Me?

Dinner was served at the Scrumptious manor after the picnic was over. The guests moved inside the house, and sat down at the immense dining room table. As the staff served the food, Truly surreptitiously seated herself next to Caractacus. One of the maids offered Truly a plate, but Truly refused it. She was feeling a little bit nervous and excited all of a sudden, and was unable to manage to eat anything, but was able to consume a healthy amount of elderberry wine.

After the guests had finished eating, Truly’s father, Lord Scrumptious rounded everyone up and led them into the parlor.   
Caractacus made as if to get up and follow the other guests into the parlor, but stopped when he felt a small hand on his arm, restricting him. 

“Miss Scrumptious, don’t you think we ought to follow your father into the parlor along with everyone else?”

“But there’s a book in the library that I so wanted to show you,” Truly said, simply, as she slowly stood up, took Caractacus’ hand, and practically galloped in the direction of the library. 

Upon reaching the library, Caractacus stared in wonderment at the vast expanse of books that adorned the shelves of the room. His eyes landed on an opened book that lay on the sofa, and he walked over to see what the title of it was. 

“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Why, I haven’t read this book in ages!” he exclaimed.

“Mmm,” murmured Truly, as she sat down next to him on the sofa. “Caractacus, what do you think of me?”

“What?”  
“Do you find me…attractive?”

Caractacus’ head shot up, and he quickly glanced at Truly. He noticed a sort of devilish gleam in her eyes, accompanied by a sort of lethargic glaze.   
“What?” he asked again. 

“Do you ever miss me whenever you’re not near me?”

“Well, I suppose I enjoy your company…”

“Well, I miss you all the time. My heart aches whenever I’m not near you, and it aches whenever I am. It’s a wonder I’m still able to breathe around you.”

As she said this, she raised her hand and began to play with his hair. 

Caractacus’ face turned red, and he was saved from having to come up with a response when Truly asked him another question.

“Do you think you could ever… Could you…”Truly’s eyes hardened as she became more and more frustrated with herself and the situation, and she seemed to be making up her mind about something. Caractacus was about to ask her just what she meant by her previous question, until suddenly Truly lunged forward and kissed him on the mouth. She kissed him again and again, and he longed to participate, but he heard the sound of footsteps marching down the corridor towards the library. He gently removed Truly’s hands from his face, and gingerly pushed her away from him. As he pushed her away, he could see a look of hurt in her eyes, but was unable to apologize due to Truly’s maid, Lizzie, opening the door of the library. 

Truly slowly looked over at her maid and said, “Lizzie, I was playing, and you interrupted me.” 

“I’m sorry, dear. But your father has requested that you and the gentleman join him and the other guests in the parlor.” 

“I’m tired. I don’t much feel like entertaining guests at the moment.” 

“Really? Well, then, what do you call what you were doing just a few moments ago?”

Caractacus blushed beet red, while Truly shot her maid a withering glance. 

“I am getting quite tired. I think I shall go to bed. And I would like Mr. Potts to join me.” 

Caractacus choked, and exclaimed, “Miss Scrumptious, you don’t know what you’re saying!”

“Don’t you want to join me?”

“No, I do not.” 

As he uttered these four words, he noticed Truly’s eyes begin to well up with tears. 3 lone tears spilled out of her eyes, and rolled down her cheeks.

Caractacus wiped them away, and said, “Please don’t cry.”   
“How can I help it? I’m tired, and I don’t feel very well-“

“That’s the wine.” 

“And all I want is to go up to my room. And you won’t help me. What else is there for me to do but cry?”

Caractacus looked down at her and said, “I’ll help you upstairs, Miss Scrumptious. It’s the least I could do.”

Truly raised her arms up to him, and he quickly scooped her up, strode out of the library, and proceeded to carry her up the stairs to her bedroom. 

Once they reached her room, Caractacus opened the door, set Truly on her bed, and attempted to walk out. 

“Mr. Potts!”

He slowly turned around. “Yes?”

“Would you please…get me my nightgown from the wardrobe?”

“Can’t you get it yourself?”

“I’m tiiiired,” Truly whined. 

“Alright.”

Caractacus opened the wardrobe door and practically tossed the nightgown towards Truly’s outstretched arms. 

“Mr. Potts, will you come over here?"

“Er, why?”

“Please.”

Caractacus strode over to the woman’s bed, and said, “What was it you wanted?” 

“Come a little closer… Closer. Closer.” Truly shot a hand behind Caractacus’ neck and then proceeded to kiss him once more. She leaned back and said, “That’s all I wanted. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Potts.” With that being said, her eyelids fluttered and she fell back onto her pillows. 

Caractacus extricated himself from Truly’s arms, gazed down at the sleeping woman, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, and left her room.


End file.
